A panel of North Dakota Supreme Court justices has upheld a law that would make it a felony to perform an abortion in the state.
The decision overturns a lower court decision that temporarily blocked the new law. Friday's ruling came after three of the court's five judges ruled the law was invalid, but it required the support of four judges to overturn it.
Violating the state law is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 (£7,600) fine.
The US Supreme Court reversed the decision federal abortion rights in 2022leaving regulation up to the states. North Dakota now joins 12 other states that have enacted complete abortion bans.
The decision came after the law was challenged by an abortion clinic in the state. The courts have ruled that the ban cannot take effect while the court case is ongoing.
The law contains exceptions if the mother's life is at risk, although victims of rape and incest only have the right to an abortion during the first six weeks of pregnancy, which opponents say occurs before many women know they are pregnant.
In their decision, the justices concluded that the state constitution does not provide a right to abortion and that the new law “provides adequate and fair warning to those who attempt to comply.”
North Dakota Republican Attorney Drew Wrigley praised the decision, saying in a statement that the high court “upheld this important pro-life law passed by the people's Legislature.”
“The Attorney General’s Office has a solemn responsibility to uphold the laws of North Dakota, and today those laws are upheld.”
Red River Women's Clinic, which was the last abortion service in North Dakota before moving to Minnesota in 2022, has not yet responded to the decision.
